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(Via Tech Crunch) It’s Web real estate, of course, but Microsoft’s Ian McAllister lets us know that the sign is up at http://shopping.live.com/. There are some sparse details in the linked “help wanted” posting which reveal that they are building the “the largest structured commercial catalog in the world, ingesting data from hundreds of thousands of retailers” in “50+ international markets.”
Interestingly, the hiring is for the whole MSN Marketplaces team which includes Windows Live Expo and MSN Shopping as well as Windows Live Shopping. Are we having brand confusion yet? Since MSN Shopping reported last Holiday season they had 7,000 retailers (which was, in itself, admirable growth), the folks at Microsoft clearly have high hopes for their new venue.
Of course, Windows Live Shopping isn’t the only new store on the street with high hopes. Colin Barker at ZDNet UK reports on Google Base:
Google is hoping to take on the huge task of moving a significant portion of the European retail sector online.
The company is extending Google Base, its system for advertising and selling goods and services, into a full retail operation, it revealed this week.
Some industry analysts are sceptical about Google’s prospects and have dismissed Google Base as “just advertising”. Another analyst believes that Google Base’s true worth goes beyond just retail and that its “rounded, more complete, approach” will make life tough for companies like Amazon.com and eBay.
Tough for Windows Live Shopping as well, of course. And along with the shopping comes the paying which is pretty good business too, as eBay discovered with PayPal. TechCrunch shows what the kids from Mountain View are up to in that arena with an Exclusive Look At Google Payments. I’m sure they’ll all find the competition bracing.
And that was even before they brought in Cedric the Entertainer. Here’s the press release:
Pre-holiday spending and site traffic on the new and improved MSN® Shopping in November soared to record levels, Microsoft Corp. reported today.
Early signs that this year’s holiday season could be the most successful ever for MSN Shopping include the following:
• On the Monday after Thanksgiving, known as “Cyber Monday” in the retail industry and considered as the unofficial kickoff of the online holiday shopping season, MSN Shopping had a 52 percent increase in page views and 55 percent increase in page visits compared with Cyber Monday 2004.
• Portable MP3 players, digital cameras and various clothing items are among the most searched for items on MSN Shopping this holiday season, participating merchants reported.
• More than 7,000 merchants offer products through MSN Shopping, up from 210 merchants last year.
• Selection on MSN is up to 28 million products from 5 million last year, a 460 percent increase.
• More than 91 percent of merchants that ran ads on MSN Shopping during the 2004 holiday season will do so again this year.
MSN Shopping visitors have a much bigger selection to choose from this year, with seven times the number of items and 35 times the number of retailers. And with access to new, shopping-made-easy search and comparison tools, as well as newly added product ratings and reviews, consumers and retailers alike are realizing that the shopping experience on MSN is better than ever.
Most of these bullets seem to be about structure rather than performance, but presumably the results will show up on the bottom line.
The new and improved MSN® Shopping (http://shopping.msn.com) and Cedric the Entertainer, one of the hottest actor/comedians working today, called for an end to the hassles of holiday shopping, declaring today national Shop in Your Undies Day. Cedric appeared in New York’s Times Square to demonstrate that by shopping on the new and improved MSN Shopping, consumers can dress in whatever they want, even their undies. Shopping on MSN is not only easier than ever, it allows consumers to avoid holiday crowds and find great values on tens of millions of products from thousands of retailers.
Today Cedric was met by a huge crowd of fans, tourists and native New Yorkers in Times Square. As Cedric told the crowd that MSN Shopping is “the” place to shop dressed in whatever they want, some 50 men and women suddenly stripped down to just their winter coats and boxer shorts and marched through the crowded streets alongside Cedric singing holiday songs.
Indeed! There’s the obligatory picture at the link as well this factoid:
A new survey conducted by Harris Interactive Inc.® and commissioned by MSN Shopping shows that they’re not the only ones stripping down before shopping online. According to the survey, 31 percent of U.S. online adults have indeed shopped online in their undies.
Who knew?
Press release - New and Improved MSN Shopping Launches Right on Time to Give Shoppers Relief This Holiday Season:
MSN® Shopping (http://shopping.msn.com) kicks off the holiday season with brand-new comparison shopping tools, with thousands of retailers, a bigger-than-ever product selection, new search tools, and helpful gift guidance to help consumers find the best value and make holiday shopping easier than ever.
The brand-new MSN Shopping provides consumers with a quick and easy way to find the products and gifts they’re looking for. Shoppers can search for a specific product such as a hot new toy that their kids asked Santa to deliver, or browse by product category for people on their gift list, including that person who has everything…
“I’m excited that MSN is now in the comparison shopping game — we’ve built new, powerful tools to make it quick, easy and fun for shoppers to find what they are looking for from one of the largest selections available online,” said Jim Barr, general manager for MSN Shopping. “MSN has ramped up our commitment to online retailing and now provides consumers with an ultimate shopping experience: Find exactly what you’re looking for at the best price, all from the comfort and convenience of home, or anywhere you have an Internet connection.”
To provide consumers with one of the largest selections available online today, MSN Shopping has collaborated with online shopping sites including PriceGrabber.com and Shopping.com. With seven times the number of retailers and 35 times the number of products, the new MSN Shopping has tens of millions of items from thousands of retailers. Products come from a range of the most-well-known brands and most-recognized merchants, from Target and FTD to mom-and-pop retailers with one-of-a-kind gift items.
Visitors to MSN will soon be able to shop in places beyond MSN Shopping, with the first step being to team up with MSN Search. MSN Search visitors will be able to receive instant answers to their product queries. For example, when consumers search for digital cameras on MSN Search, they will receive instant answers provided from MSN Shopping.
More by following the link. The tie-in of Search to Shopping is interesting, but I tried the suggested search and it isn’t live yet (just as the press release indicates), so it’s not clear exactly what it entails.
